Fallen Arches
:This article is about the episode of ''The Venture Bros. For the condition of the human foot, see flat feet.'' "Fallen Arches" is the eighth episode in the second season of The Venture Bros. Plot In his rented wing of the Venture compound, Dr. Orpheus is watching a recording from the Guild of Calamitous Intent informing him that he has at last been selected to receive his own arch-nemesis supervillain. To his consternation, however, the assignment is for him and his "team." What's more, it's scheduled to take place that very day. At the same time, Dr. Venture is showing off his newest invention, a "Walking Eye" which is a robotic, spider-like mobile camera, to Brock, Hank and Dean. Their reactions are mixed, but Venture does manage to get ideas for extra features to include in his marketing material from their comments. The show-and-make-up is interrupted by a security breach at the compound's front gate: Guild forces arriving to organize the screening for Dr. Orpheus' nemesis position, which is being held at the compound since the necromancer lives in a rented out wing of the complex. Meanwhile, Orpheus has located the first of his prospective team members: Jefferson Twilight, a Blade-esque sword-wielding Black vampire hunter. Orpheus helps dispatch the blaculas Twilight is fighting and the two talk about old times. Their adventuring group, the "Order of the Triad", had broken up about sixteen years previously when the members decided to pursue separate careers. Twilight says he thought that Orpheus had gotten married, had a kid and was busy balancing good and evil in the universe or something like that, but Orpheus ruefully informs him that his wife has left him, his daughter has a driver's license, and balancing good and evil just doesn't have the "razzle-dazzle." Twilight eagerly agrees to join Orpheus' reformed Order. In The Monarch's Cocoon hideout, #21 is trying to sell #24 on his plan to ditch The Monarch and strike out as an independent supervillain duo. He's forged a pair of Guild arch-villainy licenses. #24 is apalled by this and defends The Monarch's competence after #21 disparages it. Elsewhere in The Cocoon, The Monarch is with a prostitute who he has made to wear a wig resembling Dr. Girlfriend's hairdo and is trying to get her to talk in a satisfactorily deep voice. The Venture compound has been overrun with Guild operatives setting things up for the nemesis screening. Dr. Venture talks with Guild agents Watch and Ward, who speak admiringly about Venture's father, the original Dr. Venture. Thaddeus tells them to make sure their people stay away from his lab, as he has "some pretty impressive things going on there." Watch and Ward are less than overawed. Venture wonders aloud where Orpheus is, and the two Guild operatives say they think he's still engaged in gathering his team via astral projection. Venture laughs at finding out Orpheus was approved for a nemesis as a team, but Watch and Ward attribute this to jealousy. Orpheus' recruitment efforts are going well. He and Jefferson Twilight reach the lab of The Alchemist, the third member of the old Order. Twilight asks if The Alchemist is still looking for the Philosopher's Stone, and The Alchemist says that the stone is only a metaphor for enlightenment and he's actually working on a cure for AIDS. Twilight asks if The Alchemist is "still, um..." and waves his hand, to which The Alchemist initially responds that he is not as it was "just a phase," then says that of course he is. Orpheus is surprised that The Alchemist is interested in joining the reformed Triad, as it will put his noble work on hold, but The Alchemist says he needs the publicity, as "nothing gets the people in your corner like that hero crap." Plus, he needs the exercise. The three have a brief discussion about slimming fashion choices. Back at the Venture residence, Dr. Venture informs his sons (who have been confined to their room to prevent their getting in any trouble with the Guild operatives) that Orpheus has asked him to watch Triana for the day, and that he's delegating the responsibility of keeping her entertained to them. Dean wants to know if they need a script. Getting rid of Hank by telling him to go in the bathroom and treat his acne, Venture tries to have a "birds and bees" talk with Dean. It goes poorly, eventually segueing into a commentary on Whitesnake's music video for Here I Go Again, leaving the father exasperated and the son apalled and confused. At the Cocoon, #21 plays his trump card in his efforts to convince #24 to join his independent supervillainy scheme: a pair of jet-packs formerly belonging to a villain called Sergeant Hatred. This, combined with promises of cool leather uniforms, finally sways #24. In the master bedroom, The Monarch is bidding farewell to his hooker, who asks for directions back to Liberty Street. The Monarch launches into a convoluted, melodramatic speech about the road before her being "beset with many perils" and how the Cocoon will reward the righteous and punish the wicked, showing off a large drawn on Minotaur tattoo on his back and comparing the woman to Theseus. A trap door opens beneath the bed and the prostitute plunges down as The Monarch asks her how much she wants to live. At the Venture compound, the nemesis screening is under way. A long line of villains has assembled outside. One, an individual with fire-based abilities known as Torrid (most likely based on Dormammu, nemesis of Dr. Strange, Dr. Orpheus is based on), exchanges small talk with another of the ne'er-do-wells and then walks away, saying that there's something he feels he must do. Inside, The Order of the Triad are interviewing the nemesis hopefuls individually. In the compound's living quarters, Hank walks into the restroom and surprises Torrid, who was sitting on the toilet. The villain vanishes in a column of flame, leaving a loathsomely offensive odor behind him. Hank doesn't see Torrid disappear and blames Dean for the smell. #21 and #24 are standing at the side of a road, having donned their new costumes, which have proved not to be leather as 21 had said. They are used jumpsuits taken from Family Double Dare complete with "gak" stains. #24 takes off with his jet pack -- setting his shoes on fire in the process. The portly #21 is unable to do more than hover a couple of feet off the ground. Meanwhile, the nemesis auditions continue without much success, and Dean has enlisted Brock in his plans to entertain Triana, which consist of putting on a production of "Lady Windermere's Fan", complete with costumes. Hank is supposed to be changing into his costume, but the play comes to a halt when he demands that Dean come smell the incredible stench he has discovered in the bathroom. The prostitute flees through the bowels of the Cocoon, taunted by the voice of The Monarch via speakers all the while. Faced with a choice of several doors, she opens one and releases "the polar bear from ''Lost''." Having escaped his role in Dean's theater project, Brock is working on Dr. Venture's robotic walking eye. They discuss Venture's plan to move the eye outside (it "needs air") and his failed attempt to give the facts of life to Dean. The boys are in the smelly bathroom. Dean blames Hank for the asphyixiating cloud, but his brother denies responsibility, saying that if he had in fact done it, he would have been "almost proud" and declaring that they have a mystery on their hands. Triana, annoyed that Hank and Dean have been in the bathroom for nearly an hour, enters and is also immediately aware of the smell. Dean thinks they should get Brock, but Hank is annoyed by Dean's wanting to involve an adult every time they have a mystery to solve. Outside, Dr. Venture begins provacatively washing off the walking eye, The line of waiting villains is immediately attracted to the attention-getting technological wonder. Back in the bathroom, the boys and Triana are trying to recreate the events that occurred just before Hank entered the room and found the smell. Triana positions herself over the toilet on Hank's suggestion that he thinks someone was there and she disappears in a flash of blue fire. Hank laments that he has killed Dean's girlfriend, and the twins discuss whether Triana was in fact Dean's girlfriend, which Hank said she probably was until he killed her. The Monarch's prostitute is inching on her back beneath a row of giant swinging axes, The Monarch still supplying running commentary on her plight from his shower. The color from his "tattoo" runs off his back and down the drain. The nemesis screening is finally showing signs of promise as the Order interviews one "Lady Au Pair," Doctor Girlfriend in a different villainous identity. Jefferson is impressed by her looks, and Orpheus is impressed by her credentials, but can't shake the feeling he's seen her somewhere before. The interview goes downhill when Lady Au Pair speaks, her gravelly voice taking the Order aback. Jefferson asks if she smokes cigarettes or eats them and Lady Au Pair indignantly leaves. Hank and Dean are trying to decide what to do about Triana's vanishing. Dean suggests getting Dr. Orpheus, but Hank says they can't go to him for help because they're the ones responsible for his daughter's death. As they review their clues, Dean comes up with the bright idea of turning on the hot water in the shower, where unbeknownst to them Torrid is hiding. Torrid disappears in a cloud of steam, and the steam reveals a message written on the bathroom mirror: "I'm in the torrid zone. Tell my father." In all this time, the two erstwhile Monarch henchmen have made no progess on their journey to greatness. #21, now wearing both jet-packs, has achieved greater altitude but is still unable to do more than flail helplessly in place. #24 suggests that they should just take the bus, but #21 asserts that "Jetboy and Jetgirl do not ride the bus!" #24 expresses his dislike for the names "Jetboy" and "Jetgirl," even if he does get to be "Jetboy", while #21 insists on using the name of the oft covered Elton Motello song for the "indie cred" it will bring. The Order of the Triad are finally about to strike paydirt in their search for an arch-nemesis. Torrid interviews and tells Orpheus that he's kidnapped his daughter. Twilight and The Alchemist are suitably impressed, but Orpheus is furious. He lunges at Torrid as Alchemist and Twilight decide their search is at an end. Outside, the remaining villains are attacking Venture's walking eye. In the compound's kitchen, Venture proudly crows over having successfully upstaged Orpheus. Brock offers to save the eye, but Venture says Guild security is already shooting foam at the unruly villains. Besides, the contraption never really worked right anyway, but after word of this gets out, business will go way up. Brock heads outside to get a piece of the action anyway. As he exits, the Order and the Venture twins walk into the room. Dr. Venture asks how the nemesis search went, and they tell him that Torrid has been selected on the basis of his kidnapping Triana to the torrid zone, which, as Orpheus reminds everyone, is merely the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, where he owns an island in the Great Barrier Reef. Dean becomes excited at the thought of Triana sunning herself in a bikini and rubbing oil on her skin. The Order of the Triad do their team symbol, and Venture tells them to get out of his kitchen. At the side of the road, #24 has given up on the entire independent villainy idea and put his Monarch henchman uniform back on. He tries to flag down a ride from a passing car, but it's being driven by The Monarch's prostitute, who slows down, sees #24's buttefly outfit, and speeds off in terror. As she recedes into the distance, #24 groans, "I can't believe that whore stole my Stanza" To which #21 replies with disbelief that he "can't believe that whore got past the lake of acid." Cultural references *The "Walking Eye" robot that was created by Dr. Venture is based on the Jonny Quest episode, "The Robot Spy". A similar robot can also be seen in the opening credits of the first season of Venture Bros., just as the original version appeared in the opening credits of Jonny Quest. Dr. Venture also can be heard in converation about Walking Eyes during A Very Venture Christmas. *Torrid appears to be a visual combination of Marvel's Dormammu and DC's Deadman with an accent likely modeled after Marvel's Pyro. The "torrid zone" may also be an in-joke referring to the 1991 episode of Anything But Love titled "The Torrid Zone", in which Patrick Warburton guest-starred. *Curse, the supervillian the Order of the Triad challenges using magic, appears to be a reference to obscure DC villain Mordru, a recurring enemy in the Legion of Superheroes comic books. *The names of Guild sentries Watch and Ward are mentioned in this episode for the first time in the series. Their names are a play on the "watch" and "ward," the rudimentary system of local law enforcement established by King Edward I in the Statute of Winchester (1285) - the "watch" describing the nightly duties of the constabulary, and the "ward" describing the daylight duties. *The Monarch's discourse and back tattoo of a Minotaur are direct parodies of the killer Francis Dolarhyde from the Thomas Harris book and related movie Red Dragon. The tattoo also appears to be fake, and washing off in the shower. *The scene where Dr. Venture washes his Walking Eye robot to entice to Guild hopefuls is a direct reference to Cool Hand Luke, in which a busty blonde washes her car to tantalize the members of the chain gang. The final shot of this sequence parallels the final shot of the car wash scene, where the girl's large breasts are rubbing against the window of the car. *Jefferson Twilight is a pastiche of the Marvel superhero Blade and the blaxploitation movie protagonist, Shaft. *The Rabbot from Aqua Teen Hunger Force can be heard in the background during the scene where Torrid is introduced. *The Monarch recites a paragraph from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" as the prostitute is making her way beneath a row of swinging axes. *Hanks statement about Triana's smoldering remains banging out "kill me" in Morse code is likely a reference to the book and film Johnny Got His Gun. *Orpheus' Red Bathrobe is reminiscent of Dr. Strange during a period where he discarded his old cape for a red coat. Connections to other episodes *Many of the arch-villain candidates seen in this episode can also be seen in "Tag Sale – You're It!".Episode "Tag Sale – You're It!". *In the line of enticed villains are Truckules (dressed in an Optimus Prime-like suit) and Sergeant Hatred. Both supervillains were mentioned in the episode "Hate Floats", but never shown.Episode "Hate Floats" *Dr. Girlfriend applies to be the Order's arch-nemesis under the name "Lady Au Pair," mentioned in the past as Dr. Girlfriend's first alias.Episode "The Trial of the Monarch" Production notes *When the Triad try fighting a wizard arch-villain named Curse, Dr. Orpheus says an incantation and proceeds to shoot a red laser that takes away Curse's legs. When this incantation is recorded and played backwards, it says "Enjoy hot magic." *One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) has "nickname" inserted into his credits. The nickname is an unusual line or word from the preceding episode. For "Fallen Arches" the credit reads Kimson "Rochambeau" Albert. Goofs *After defeating a blackula, Jefferson Twilight rips out his vampire teeth, but when the blackula opens his mouth the teeth are still there. *As the whore is putting her stockings back on in The Monarch's bed, the stocking she presumably pulls up her leg cannot be seen; though, presumably, these may simply be "nude" colored stockings. *When #21 uncovers the jetpacks, the one on the left has its straps facing him. As the camera switches to #24, who is sitting across from #21, the same jetpack has the straps facing him. When the camera goes back to #21, the straps go back to facing their original direction (facing #21). *The jetpacks initially seem to only have straps that go over the shoulders, but later, when #21 and #24 are testing them out, they also have belt-like straps with controls. *When Dr. Venture is watching the Walking Eye do battle out the window, the details on his left ear are missing. *Several Sergeant Hatreds and multiples of other unnamed villains can be seen grappling with the Walking Eye towards the end of the episode. *The subtitles erroneously call Truckules "Truckulese". References Category:The Venture Bros. episodes